Lakshya Sen lost to world No.3 Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters 2023 BWF

Lakshya Sen lost to world No.3 Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters 2023 BWF Super 500 tournament in Jakarta on Friday.

Lakshya Sen, 12th in the BWF world rankings, produced a valiant effort but eventually went down to local favourite Jonatan Christie 21-15, 10-21, 13-21 in 62 minutes. This was Lakshya Sen’s first loss against Christie in his second match-up.

Both players engaged in high-quality rallies from the start but Lakshya Sen, with a more robust defence, went into the first mid-game interval leading Christie 11-8. The Indian badminton player built on his lead to take the first game convincingly.

After the change of ends, Jonatan Christie swung the momentum in his favour with a clever mix of backhand and forehand shots.

In the decider, Lakshya Sen continued to trouble Christie in longer rallies but Jonatan Christie, with more energy in the bank, led Sen 11-6 at the break.

The Indian badminton player produced a few good winners and reduced the deficit with four straight points post-interval. The fatigue, however, caught up with Lakshya Sen as Jonatan Christie killed the contest with precise crosscourt smashes.

Later in the day, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto crashed out of Indonesia Masters after losing to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the quarter-finals. 

The Indian duo fought hard in the second game but eventually lost the match 21-13, 21-18 in 44 minutes. The loss also ended India’s campaign at the BWF Super 500 tournament.

The Indian badminton players will next be seen in action at Thailand Masters Super 300 tournament which begins next week.